ORLANDO — Industry rumors had been in the wind, and now Six Flags and Enchanted Parks have made it official. Enchanted Parks has acquired several Six Flags parks.
At the helm is James Harhi, who is no stranger to the amusement industry. Having been CEO for Innovative Attraction Management (2013 – present), StarGuard Elite (2013 – present), Thrive Property Group (2013 – present) and JFH Technologies (2005 – present), as well as senior vice president for ProParks Attraction Group (2020 – 2023) and recreation specialist at Walt Disney World (1996 – 2002), Harhi comes with an extensive knowledge of many facets of the amusement industry. His strength in operational strategy, financial planning and analysis, and product management will combine with personal passion to build top-performing teams to drive change and growth at all levels.
In addition to Water Safari in New York and Diggerland USA in New Jersey, the newly formed chain of parks will include these former Six Flags properties, some of which were part of the 2024 merger with Cedar Fair: Six Flags St. Louis, Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun, The Great Escape and Six Flags Great Escape Lodge, Valleyfair, Michigan’s Adventure and Schlitterbahn Galveston.
Harhi said, “We feel Enchanted Parks can come in and be much nimbler and more efficient, while building relationships with the local community.”
According to Harhi, Enchanted Parks is a spinoff from IAM to include an owner/operator park division.
“It is part of the strategic vision we started back in 2019 as we tried to move the company from consulting and management,” Harhi told Amusement Today. “We really accelerated this path in 2024 when we formed a strategic partnership with EPR Properties and acquired our first property, Water Safari Resort. We are excited to welcome Franceen Gonzales to our team as the COO. She will be leading the transformation of these assets.”
Enchanted Parks has visited each property.
“We visited all six parks in December. They are in much better shape than if you read the headlines in the newspaper,” said Harhi. “There is definitely some investment to be made to get consistent ride times up. That’s going to be a big push of ours as we’ve looked at the guest reviews. We want to stabilize the rides and make sure we have rides that operate. We’re going to be opening these parks in less than 60 days of acquiring them.”
Enchanted Parks plans to take control in the next 30 to 60 days.
“Like I said, we have a 40-year lease. We’re committed long term to these parks,” Harhi told AT. “We’re not going to walk away from that legacy. We’re really excited about building on the rich history of each park.”
Read more of this breaking industry story in the April issue of Amusement Today.
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